Organizers of Bluffton’s second Boiled Peanut Festival hope more people from the town and surrounding areas participate in this year’s event.

Hannah Parrish of Bluffton Boilers, which is organizing the festival, said they are planning to have more events this year for everyone to enjoy. Despite rain last year, Parrish said, the event attracted about 250 attendees.

While the first festival was held during the Bluffton Farmers Market last August, this year it will be held on a Saturday, from 2-8 p.m. Aug. 24 on Calhoun Street.

Oranizers will also host a festival “preview day” Aug. 22 during the Bluffton Farmers Market, at a time to be announced. Parrish said they will unveil a “world’s largest boiled peanut” sculpture and announce festival events on preview day.

Bluffton Boilers’ Jared Jester and Clayton Colleran are building the sculpture, which should be more than 20-feet long, Parrish said. It will be on display during the festival.

“We are calling it the world’s largest boiled peanut because there are no other large boiled peanut sculptures as of right now,” Parrish said. “It is not a boiled peanut: It is plywood, chicken wire, paper mache, and spray foam, It will be painted to look like a boiled peanut.”

“The main goal of preview day is to show the peanut off and put it in place for Saturday,” Parrish said.

Parrish said Tom Hall and the Plowboys will perform at 3 p.m. Aug. 24. Little Ms. Peanut and Little Goober contests will be held at 3 p.m. for children ages 3 and younger.

“It will be similar to a pageant but it will be very simplified,” Parris said of the children’s contests. “Parents will dress their child in a cute outfit and write a little blurb about their child that will be read during the contest.”

A boiled peanut eating contest for all ages is scheduled for 4 p.m. The audience-judged boiled peanut cook-off, which will cost $5 for two votes, starts at 5:30 p.m.

Cook-off proceeds go to the overall winner’s charity of choice, Parrish said. She said a list of 26 nonprofit organizations has been compiled for the winner to choose from.

The categories for this years cook-off are traditional and creative, Parrish said. The festival had a Cajun/spicy category last year, but Parrish said it has been merged with the creative category.

Last year’s cook-off featured about 30 contestants.

Anyone interested in competing in the cook-off can sign up by emailing bluffton.boilers@gmail.com or register at blufftonboilers.com. The entry fee is $20. It will rise to $25 the day of the event, Parrish said.